Paul Craig will once more be seen in the belly of the Brazilian beast on Sunday morning, though the notoriously hostile crowd won’t scare him.
When he arrives at the Octagon, the Scotsman will be singing “Oh Fay Mauer” – English for “You shall die”. UFC283 colliding at Rio de Janeiro with Johnnie Walker
6
6
6
The iconic cheer was directed at Brazilians fighting foreigners for the better part two decades. It has become synonymous to the sport.
Airdrie Assassin Craig will not be surprised by the vitriol behind the chant, which he first heard three years ago when it was being performed. MMA The legendary Shogun Rua in São Paulo.
He told SunSport: “For me, sport is about memories, experiences and what happens there.
“I will never forget going out to Sao Paulo with them and they were crazy. Whatever chant they were signing—”You’re going to die.” It was amazing.
“I have a video where you can just hear them chanting this and all you hear is, ‘You’re going to die Craig! “
“It was absolutely massive because I go around trying to look strong. But take a look at the finish of that fight. I think Brazil is a lot more like the UK.
“If you put on a show, the fans will support you.
“It doesn’t matter if your going to face the British, or not.” [Brazilian guy]And you are not the hero for your hometown.
Private Casino – Best Online Casino 2023
“If you bid, the fans will return it to you.
“Look, as soon you get out of that Octagon the fans will follow you. This was how it was in Brazil.
He added, “When I put the first round on Shogun and I felt like I won that fight. It went to a decision, a draw, not the worst.” [thing]It could happen here in Brazil.
“But the fans loved his fight, and they were right behind me. The atmosphere was electric and I think he will be the same in this fight.
Craig is able to focus on the dangerous Walker and not have to mentally prepare for them. However, it was difficult to devise a strategy for the erratic Brazilian.
Of his opponent, Craig said: “He came onto the scene and he was knocking people out and he was swinging.
And just making crazy memes in which he is bitten by a worm.
“A great figure in the sport. He is very tall, athletic, and strong. But he lacks the ability to compose.
6
“We saw it in Hill’s eyes when that bullet caught his face and he fell backwards.
“He makes mistakes, and I believe that’s where we can benefit. As long as we keep our distance and don’t get distracted by silly things, we’ll be able to benefit.
“When he lunges forward, we have two options: we either beat him or we knock him down. We’re looking for that.
“That’s how we’ve spent the last few weeks looking at him beating him up for insanity.
“He’s gone mad, we’re taking advantage. That’s what they want. We want him to be that strange.”
Craig’s first outing could have had title implications, if he had passed Volkan Osdemir at UFC LondonIn July, he ended his four-game winning streak.
He said: “I think if that last fight had gone a different way, a victory over Vulcan in London in the summer, we might have sat here talking about the title contender’s shot.
Jamal Hill has to win this fight now [Magomed] Ankalaev killed [Jan] Blachowicz last month. They are two young men that have defeated them.
6
Who knows what might have happened? But, that saying, “should, were, could” still applies.
Craig can’t help but feel that his lackluster head coach contributed towards his biggest loss in mixed martial arts.
He admitted: “Maybe I shouldn’t have gone into battle because I haven’t settled my affairs.
“Like I said, I was a nomad—hopping from gym to gym and heading south and training with Tom Aspinall, Phil de Vries and Mickey Parkin, but I had no direction.”
Craig still dreams of becoming the first Scotsman UFC gold champion.
He also knows he has to make a big deal against Walker if his title aspirations are to be revived.
He stated, “The way now was to go through Johnnie Walker. You can’t beat Johnnie Walker in three rounds, and still look comfortable.
“It has to be a performance. This is something I have said before. The UFC doesn’t care if you can entertain the crowd.
“What do the fans want? It’s entertainment first and foremost. Fighting is what we do to entertain our fans.
“You won’t get a title shot if your not entertaining the crowd. That’s why I need to go to Brazil.
“I need to put on a show, hurt Johnnie Walker and stop him in three rounds.”
Walker, a flashy forward who will no doubt draw strength form the Rio crowd as they attempt to score back-2-to-back wins for him for the first time since almost four years.
Craig believes that the pressure to fight in front of his loved one and rabid countrymen might have the opposite effect.
He said: “Johnnie Walker is a totally emotional guy, all a blast [and energy]It’s possible he might eat it.
“I think bright lights might get him.”
Source link
[Denial of responsibility! wideworldmag.co.uk is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – at wideworldmag.co.uk The content will be deleted within 24 hours.]
